Monday, January 25, 2016

Climate Change: Oil Company Sees a Future for Renewable Energy - But Geothermal is "Costly"

Nuclear and renewable energy sources – including bio-energy, hydro, geothermal, wind, and solar – are likely to account for nearly 40 percent of the growth in global energy demand by 2040.

The Outlook for Energy is ExxonMobil's long-term global view of energy demand and supply. Its findings help guide the oil company's long-term investments, and it shares The Outlook to help promote better understanding of the issues shaping the world’s energy future.

"To keep pace with demand, the world will need to pursue all economic energy sources. In 2040, oil and natural gas will likely be nearly 60 percent of global supplies, while nuclear and renewables will be approaching a 25 percent share.

We can expect that new technologies will continue to create new energy options for our growing world. We don’t know yet what all those technologies will be, but history tells us that the best ones will be affordable, available on a commercial scale, and not overly reliant on government support. Enabling these technologies will require policies that promote innovation, investments and free trade.

One of the constants in life is change. Another is energy. By understanding the trends described in The Outlook, we can better anticipate how much – and which kinds of – energy the world will need in the future. This insight helps guide our investments as we work to help safely meet the world’s need for affordable, reliable energy – the energy that helps create and add value to modern living for people everywhere.

Geothermal will continue to be used in geologically active areas, but growth is expected to be limited by cost."